REVEALED: How the crash hit Palm property prices (Dubai)"The value of apartments in one of Palm Jumeirah developments has plunged by as much 75 percent in the wake of Dubai's 2008 property crash, documents obtained by Arabian Business reveal."

Colgan Air parent co. files for bankruptcy"Memphis-based Pinnacle Airlines Corp., parent company of Colgan Air, has filed for bankruptcy. Colgan currently serves airports in Trenton and Presque Isle, though it will soon cease its service."

Safety check backlog at UK oil rigs"The UK North Sea's dwindling oil and gas reserves are pushing companies to tap unstable reservoirs at high pressure and extreme heat, while safety checks and maintenance are behind schedule, a North Sea rig auditor who works for the industry told Reuters. French oil major Total is battling to stem a 12-day gas leak at its North Sea Elgin platform after a series of technical failures that industry sources say reflect wider lapses across Britain's offshore industry."

Here it is: Peak oil and the decline of the oil/gas industry. As oil and gas become more expensive to extract, costs must be cut elsewhere. This article is long but a good read. -- RF

Indian dream of clean gas-based power stations turns sour"India's dream of providing clean gas-based power stations is turning sour. Three gas-based power plants, including Pragati, Bawana and Rithala in the NCR region, with a combined capacity of over 1,730 MW, have literally 'run out of gas'."

Saudi oil shipper Vela books more tankers to U.S"Saudi Arabia's state oil tanker company Vela has booked at least four vessels carrying up to 8 million barrels of crude for the U.S. Gulf in the past two days, tanker fixture data showed on Thursday."

## Got food? ##World food prices rise in March: FAO"Global food prices rose in March for a third month in a row driven by gains in vegetable oils and grains, adding to inflationary pressure, the United Nations' FAO index showed on Thursday."

## Intelligence/security/internet/systemic breakdown ##Anonymous says it hacked Chinese government sites"China was struggling Thursday to restore several government websites that international hacking group Anonymous says it attacked in an apparent protest against Chinese Internet restrictions."

## Japan ##Radioactive water leaks from Fukushima plant"About 12 tonnes of water contaminated with radiation has leaked from Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant."Plant operator TEPCO believes most of the water flowed into the Pacific Ocean. It says the contaminated water leaked from a treatment pipe."Gov't agency sought to raise Fukushima radiation exposure limit to 350 millisieverts"The government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) demanded the health ministry raise the allowable radiation exposure limit to 350 millisieverts effectively for emergency workers trying to bring the crippled Fukushima nuclear power station under control shortly after the ministry lifted the legal exposure limit to 250 millisieverts from 100 millisieverts on March 14, 2011, it has been learned."

Small wars loom large on China's horizon"Broad hints have been coming out of China that the country might start small-scale military strikes over disputed waters that are believed to hold rich energy reserves. The consequences of such endeavors would be tolerable to Beijing, international experts say."

Shipping accidents rise as market falls"As the world's shipping market slumped to its lowest point this year, ship owners have cut their spending on safety, resulting in a growing number of maritime accidents in recent months, maritime officials said."Beijing raises domestic fuel prices 4.35%"This is the third time the Chinese government has raised domestic fuel prices this year. Beijing increased domestic fuel prices by 1.43% and 3.48% to CNY7,465 per ton and CNY7,725 per ton, respectively, in February and March (ATW Daily News, March 8)."